Julie Miller Denesha joins WCU Advancement to support College of Engineering, Technology
By Bill Studenc
Julie Miller Denesha, former associate director of athletics for development at Western Carolina University, has joined the WCU Division of Advancement as director of development and corporate partnerships for the College of Engineering and Technology.
Denesha鈥檚 appointment, effective Monday, Oct. 7, was announced by Ben Pendry, WCU vice chancellor for advancement.
Julie Miller Denesha
鈥淲e are pleased to welcome Julie to the Division of Advancement, 鈥� Pendry said. 鈥淪he will directly support the College of Engineering and Technology and its dean, Randy Collins. As the university moves forward with the expansion of engineering programs and the construction of a new engineering building, the college has an ambitious set of goals. I know that Julie will hit the ground running and greatly assist the college in supporting this region and our industry partners.鈥�
Denesha comes to the Division of Advancement with more than 14 years of experience in development and fundraising. She previously served as associate director of athletics for development at WCU since August 2021, overseeing the Catamount Club and serving as the Division of Athletics鈥� primary contact for numerous donors, corporate partners and local businesses.
She also focused on the discovery, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of donors to Catamount Athletics, with an emphasis on leadership gifts in support of WCU鈥檚 ongoing 鈥淔ill the Western Sky鈥� comprehensive fundraising campaign. An effort to raise a minimum of $75 million in support of the university鈥檚 academic, student engagement and athletics programs, the campaign has a significant emphasis on raising money to support enhancements to athletics facilities.
Denesha returned to WCU after a stint at Arizona State University, where she served as director of major gifts for the Sun Devils athletics program from February 2015 until December 2017. She was promoted to senior director of major gifts and engagement at Arizona State in December 2017, continuing in that role before rejoining the Catamount athletics administration in August 2021.
She previously worked in the WCU Division of Athletics from 2011 to 2015, first as assistant director of development for athletics and later as associate director of development. Denesha, who first came to WCU in 2010 as an intern, earned her bachelor's degree in communications at the University of South Carolina-Upstate where she was a member of the women鈥檚 golf team.
鈥淚 am grateful for the opportunity to join the team and work beside Randy Collins and the tremendous faculty, staff and students in the College of Engineering and Technology,鈥� Denesha said. 鈥淲ith my love for Western Carolina and as someone who is passionate about the transformative power of education, I look forward to collaborating with our alumni and external stakeholders to ensure WCU continues to push boundaries and affect the region in a positive way."
After ranking expansion of its engineering programs as its top legislative priority, WCU received $95.3 million for a new engineering building from the North Carolina General Assembly in the 2023-2025 biennial state budget and another $3.5 million in recurring funds to expand programming in the College of Engineering and Technology.
鈥淲ith the generous state funding that has been provided to WCU to meet increasing demand for high-quality engineering professionals across the state and region, Julie is joining us at an exciting time for our college and our university,鈥� said Collins. 鈥淚 know she is ready to cultivate the philanthropic support and corporate partnerships to help the College of Engineering and Technology as we grow our academic offerings and other programming.鈥�
For more information about the College of Engineering and Technology, visit
